Choosing
by ying-chan
Summary: Jughead and Archie have always been the best of friends. Something threatens to ruin all that used to be. BettyXJug
1. Icy Cold Friendship

Forsythe Jones, better known as Jughead, was loudly slurping the blue-raspberry slushie drink that Pop's was now offering. He observed the blue liquid in his plastic cup and started to blow through his straw. A few bubbles appeared, then more and more until the largest one almost reached his nose. His cheeks were now puffing up as he strived to make the bubble reach his nose. This served as the perfect excuse to keep his eyes off the person sitting right across him. His best buddy Archie was going on about something that Jughead couldn't quite make sense of, and didn't really want to either. Jug gave up on the bubble and took in a large gulp of air to fill his lungs.

"Are you listening to me at all?" Jughead could hear the whine in his friend's voice. He gave a weak smile and nodded, but made a face as he looked down at his slushie again.

Fortunately, Archie wasn't that sharp and didn't notice anything. "As I was saying," he continued, "I need your help on something urgent."

"Mmm-hmm?" Jug answered while gulping down the drink. He had put the straw away – it was an obstacle to getting the drink into his system as quickly as possible. He shivered and felt his muscles tense as the icy coolness traveled down his throat. His brain was numb for a few seconds, but soon he was back to normal. Probably another date crisis, which involved the usual girls – Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge. "What is it this time?" he asked without looking up from his empty cup. There was no answer. From the corner of his eyes he saw Arch wring his hands in despair. "Booked them on the same day, I bet."

"How did you know?" His friend's hands froze in the air.

Jughead raised his head up and finally looked Archie in the eye. "Ha! Don't pretend you don't know. You're always getting yourself into this kind of trouble." Once again, Archie had booked Betty and Ron on the same day, at the same time. This had happened a total of thirty-four times. Impressive. Jug remembered each and every incident, because they always seemed to end with a blonde-haired girl walking away with tears forming in her eyes. It was a vicious cycle, one that he didn't want to be a part of. He couldn't push that image out of his mind. How could a nice guy like Archie bear hurting a nice girl like Betty? Jug loved his buddy. The good times and bad times were all spent with Arch. He hadn't bothered much with Archie's various girl chases, but Jughead definitely did not like to see the look on Betty's face every time her date with Archie was cancelled. _To be friends with someone you have to accept their flaws, but_–

Archie had kept quiet during all this time, but now he spoke up, interrupting Jug's flow of thought. "Jug?" His voice sounded hopeful. "Does this mean you'll help me?"

"Just tell me what you want," Jug said, mentally exhausted from battling his conscience. It was always an endless battle. Neither side ever won.

"Can you tell Betty…"

"That the date is cancelled?" Jughead finished the question for him.

"Yeah."

"Why don't you just tell her yourself?"

Archie's helpless look was on again. "I feel pretty bad for doing this. I don't think she'd want to see me."

"Then why don't you cancel your date with Ron instead?" Jug truly didn't understand how Ron was any better than Betty. In fact, Veronica was quite the snob and stuck-up girl.

"No way! I can't do that…she'll kill me!"

"So you're sacrificing Betty's happiness for your own selfish purposes."

Archie winced reflexively. "What?"

"Just being honest."

"This will be the last time, I promise…"

"Why don't you tell Betty that? And why don't you tell her face-to-face? Do you not love her?"

"It's not that, it's just – I don't know!"

"If you don't love her, tell her before you break her heart even more."

"Great friend you are. Trying to ruin my relationships."

"Whatever," Jughead said nonchalantly. "You disappoint me, Arch. I expected so much more from you. I believed in you as a person. The longer I hang around you these days, the more depressed I am at how you've changed since we were kids." He gave Archie a pat on the shoulder. "Anyways, I'm heading over to Chuck's place to see some of his new sketches and to help myself to his mom's lasagna. Care to come?"

Archie Andrews shook his head. "I'm really hurt by your words, Jug, but if you're being honest with me, I respect that." He sighed. "I need a rest. See you tomorrow."

The two left Pop's together but once they were out the door, each walked a different path. _– but would he be able to live with Archie's flaws?_


	2. The Calm Before the Storm

The mechanical beeping of the alarm clock did not stir Betty Cooper. It was seven o'clock in the morning. Fast asleep under the safeness of her covers, she looked just like one of those angels perched upon the top of trees at Christmas. The expression on her face was of pure joy – probably a pleasant dream involving Archie Andrews was doing that for her.

A few hours later, the angel was violently wakened up from her slumber. Betty blinked open her eyes and looked into her mother's face. She groaned and reluctantly got off her bed. Taking a look at the bedside clock, she did a double take. It was ten o'clock! She was going to be late for school, for the first time this year. Mrs. Grundy would be so disappointed at her.

"What's wrong, dear?"

"I can't believe it. I'm going to be so late!" She slapped her head in annoyance. Why did she have to stay up so late last night reading that stupid romance book? It was just too good to put down…

Mrs. Cooper let out a hearty chuckle. "It's Sunday."

Relief crashed over her and she laughed along with her mother. "Now why did you wake me up for?"

"Don't tell me you forgot about your shopping date with Ronnie."

"In fact, I did," Betty said, blushing.

"Well, you better call her up and tell her you'll have to be later than planned." Mrs. Cooper gave her daughter a reassuring pat on the shoulder and left the room to let Betty change and get ready. "Don't forget to come down for some pancakes!"

"Thanks mom! I'll be there soon!"

After the usual morning things and a bit of explaining to Ron on the phone, Betty was ready. Ron had been pretty mad at her for changing things, but insisted that she still go with her to the mall and help her pick out some clothes. In order to prevent herself from looking like a peasant standing next to Ron, Betty had spent quite a long time picking out some acceptable clothes. She remembered wearing a plain white t-shirt and baggy pants once, and Veronica had refused to be seen with her. It was quite hilarious, actually.

Betty was about to close the door to her room when thoughts of Archie crept into her mind once again.

_Maybe she should call him up to confirm the date..._

Betty decided to follow her thoughts and dialed Archie's number. Her pulse quickened and she could feel her heart beating with unusual force. Holding her breath, she waited for her dream boy to pick up. It seemed to take forever.

"Hi, who's calling?"

"Archie!" she exclaimed into the phone, with genuine enthusiasm.

"B-betty?..." He seemed disappointed. She felt crushed. How could the sound of her voice disappoint him?

"I'm really excited about our date tomorrow. Thank you so much for getting the tickets to the ballet performance. That was so sweet of you!"

There was a pause on the other end. "I'm glad you're happy about it," Archie said quietly.

"I love you," Betty said.

"Uh, me too…um, look I have an appointment soon. Talk to you later, Bets." Then they both ended the call.

_Maybe she was being overly sensitive. Archie was happy for her, wasn't he?_

They met up at the place where they usually shopped – Riverdale Mall. Betty looked down at her own outfit. She was wearing a blue tank top and low-cut jeans. She didn't think there was anything wrong, but from the look Veronica kept giving her, the fashion queen was not satisfied. "Oh god," Veronica wrinkled her delicate nose in disgust. "Why are you wearing that in public?"

"Isn't this what you usually wear too?"

"Do you even know where we're going?" Betty shook her head. Riverdale Mall was extremely small, but the good thing was that Betty and Ron always knew when and where the sales were. There wasn't even a fancy fountain, and the food court was always crammed, but Betty liked it here. She looked around at the familiar stores, but soon everything became a blur as Ron started to pick up the pace.

"To Aphrodisiac – it just opened in our mall. You should have dressed appropriately, girlfriend," Veronica criticized. Veronica wrapped her arm around Betty's and proceeded to drag her in front of a department store somewhere further to the left of the mall. "Hurry! They're having a special grand opening sale!"

_Wow. Aphrodisiac._

Betty had heard of the brand before. They sold really expensive evening wear. The first store had begun in Paris, and many famous actresses and entertainers had worn the dresses and gowns ever since the company expanded their stores. But what was the point? She could never afford anything in the store, even if it was fifty percent off. Suddenly Betty felt a pang of jealousy hit her. Veronica had all the money in the world and could do anything she liked, while Betty could only dream. It wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair. Even something that money couldn't buy, like love, was not in her possession. Although Archie was nice to her sometimes, Betty couldn't help but admit that Arch was obviously smitten over the money goddess.

_Shut up, Betty. Stop it!_

She didn't want to think that way. Ron was her best friend, and she had her good points too. As well, they shared many memories that could not replace all the money in the world, and Veronica probably could not help it if Archie listened to her every command.

Betty felt someone tugging her arm. She looked ahead and slowly backed away as she faced an angry Ronnie. Her best friend was glaring at her intensely. "How many times did I tell you to move it!"

She giggled nervously and rid her mind of all thoughts as she let herself be led to the new store.


End file.
